DEA
OPENS MUSEUM TO THE PUBLIC WITH INAUGURAL EXHIBIT ON "ILLEGAL DRUGS IN
AMERICA: A MODERN HISTORY"

The Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) will open a brand new museum to the public on May
11, 1999. The DEA Museum and Visitors Center located in the lobby of DEA
Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia features an exhibit, "Illegal Drugs
in America: A Modern History," which provides a historical overview of
one of our nation's worst problems. Beginning with the 19th century and
coming right up to the present, the 2,200 square foot museum documents
the perils of the drug culture, and explains the past successes of federal
drug law enforcement and the current challenges facing the United States.

According to DEA
Administrator Thomas A. Constantine, "The museum and visitors center is
dedicated to the men and women of law enforcement who have come before,
those who will follow, and to the American families who have suffered
the deadly effects of drugs throughout the twentieth century,"

"This is the first
museum in America which traces the impact that drugs have had on American
society and the efforts by federal law enforcement to combat this growing
problem. Our hope is that each and every parent and teacher who brings
a child into the museum will take the opportunity to talk to their kids
about drugs. Law enforcement alone cannot solve the drug problem. Research
shows us that we can make a difference when we talk to our kids." he added.

The museum tells
the story of drugs in the twentieth century through striking images of
undercover agents, drug users--famous and unknown, and notorious criminals.
On display is a wide range of rare and unusual artifacts ---old opium
smoking pipes, 'Bayer' heroin bottles, a circa 1920 federal drug agent's
Tommy gun, undercover agent outfits including a fur coat and gravity defying
green platform snakeskin shoes worn by a male agent, a wooden booby trap
from a marijuana field in Thailand, a limegreen surfboard which had been
used to conceal drugs being smuggled into the country and such seized
items as a drug trafficker's diamond-encrusted gun and a shiny $35,000
Hell's Angel's chrome-plated Harley Davison motorcycle from Salem, Massachusetts.

The museum exhibits
are presented in chronological order. America had its first drug epidemic
early this century and successfully addressed it. This story is told in
the first two parts of the exhibit: AMERICA'S FIRST DRUG EPIDEMIC 1850-1914
and ENFORCING THE NEW DRUG LAWS 1919-1950's. When the 20th century began,
the United States--grappling with its first drug epidemic-- gradually
instituted effective restrictions, at home through domestic law enforcement,
and overseas by spearheading a world movement to limit opium poppy and
coca crops. By the Second World War, American drug use had become so rare,
it was seen as a marginal social problem.

When the huge youthful
middle-class began using and trafficking in drugs in the 1960s and 1970s,
the drug problem exploded. A decade later those who paid the biggest price
were the poor, especially crack addicts and their communities. The second
and third sections of the exhibit tell that story: RISE OF THE MODERN
DRUG CULTURE 1960's and 1970's and RETURN OF COCAINE & RISE OF THE
CARTELS 1970's and 1980's.

During the 1960s,
marijuana, and new drugs like amphetamine, and psychedelics came on the
scene, and a new generation--the baby boomers--with no recollection of
the first epidemic--embraced drugs and spawned a drug culture like America
had never seen before. This Middle-class espousal helped illegal drugs
penetrate communities all over the country where they had never been before.

In the 1970s, cocaine
reappeared, and then in the 1980s came crack, relatively cheap and highly
addictive, spreading addiction and violence at epidemic levels in our
poorest and most depressed communities. De-stigmatizing drug use had catastrophic
consequences, especially for those communities, which became centers of
the drug trade and were featured routinely on the nightly news. With the
drug problem exploding, our government struggled to keep up. In 1973,
DEA was created as the lead federal drug law enforcement agency combining
law enforcement and intelligence gathering agencies in the fight against
drugs.

Today violent Colombian
and Mexican drug mafias headquartered outside of the U.S. control most
drug trafficking in this country. The DEA is active overseas and at home
fighting these powerful criminal organizations. THE DEA TODAY section
of the exhibit depicts DEA's current biggest challenge-- the dramatic
change in organized crime. Where once American criminals controlled drug
trafficking here, today it is ruthless, powerful foreign drug syndicates
based in Colombia and Mexico.

In addition, the
museum features three interactive kiosks loaded with more than two hours
worth of videos, still photos, and audio clips making a high tech presentation
of information on five major drugs -- heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine,
marijuana, LSD and other hallucinogens. The kiosks also include animated
charts and graphs showing the latest statistics on drugs and drug trafficking,
audio clips from DEA administrators discussing common questions about
drug use and drug law enforcement, a video archive of popular anti-drug
PSAs from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and an overview video
on DEA's current programs and divisions. With their ability to be updated
on a regular basis the kiosks add a dynamic dimension to the museum.

And finally, there
is a mini-theater and a small gift shop operated by the Association of
Former Federal Narcotics Agents (AFFNA).

Construction and
design costs for the museum totaled $349,000 which was funded through
Congressional appropriations with artifacts donated by AFFNA members and
countless individuals involved in drug law enforcement. The museum will
be open to the public by appointment only. Reservations can be made by
calling the museum office at 202-307-3463.

The Museum
and Visitors Center at 700 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, Virginia (Pentagon
City) will be open for press previews May 4-7. All accredited press are
welcome. Please call 202-307-7977 in order to make arrangements for your
tour.